environment
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Wishing you peace as I take some time off. Read more
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Ambient temperatures reached into the 90s beginning Tuesday and have been unrelenting. That’s how early summer weather goes in Eastern Iowa. That’s a lie. According to local meteorologists, average temperatures are running about seven degrees above the 30-year average high. Read more
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As I walked along the state park trail, I didn’t know if I would participate in the annual 4th of July parade in Coralville. Wild bergamot was beginning to bloom under the heat dome that parked over the Ohio River Valley and included us. I was mindful of the effect of high temperatures and humidity… Read more
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I was finding my way after university when the Duane Arnold Energy Center began operations on Feb. 1, 1975. I had other things on my mind in the pre-Three Mile Island, pre-Chernobyl, pre-Fukushima world of electricity generation. I was trying to start a life and it wasn’t going as well as I had hoped. I… Read more
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Heavy rain that delayed planting tomatoes and peppers is now helping those crops survive the heat dome. Rain over several days deeply moistened the ground, and plant root structures have been drawing on that reservoir. Despite the heat, the garden is growing and producing vegetables. My daily heat dome process is to wake early, read… Read more
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This Lodi apple tree was my earliest ripening variety. Once Japanese beetles discovered it, they released pheromones that drew in more of their kind and aggregated, as in the photo. The problem was made worse by a neighbor placing two Japanese beetle traps within 75 feet of my small orchard. These traps attract more than… Read more
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Some mornings I get out on the state park trail early — 45 minutes before sunrise. Ambient temperatures have been in the 50s and 60s at that hour, yet others are already out walking or jogging. I recognize most of them, if not by name, then by their gait, and whether or not they return… Read more
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The following was posted on Bleeding Heartland as part of their “Wildflower Wednesday” series. I re-wrote an earlier post, adding new content. I appreciate Laura Belin making me part of that series. Is reed canary grass an invasive species? The photo above suggests that it is. Thriving along the lake shore, this grass formed a… Read more
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After two days of heavy rain, gravity takes water from the subdivision toward the lake. We needed rain, and it looks like the garden will survive damage incurred from the heavy storms. A lot of leeks are now angled from their roots. Here is a gallery of photographs from the last two days. Read more
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Friday after overnight and early morning rainfall I came across this common snapping turtle laying eggs next to the state park trail. This location was a few yards from the lake where the turtle spends most of its life. Because of all the foot and bicycle traffic, it is not the safest place for a… Read more
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